New York Giants’ G/T David Diehl will have to go through surgery on his right thumb today. Timetable to return is about 6 weeks.

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc Injury. Steelers are still deciding if Bell will need surgery.

Washington Redskins QB Kirk Cousins has not practiced since injury his right foot on Monday and it is assumed that he will miss the third preseason game. Also Cousins MRI that he took today showed no serious damage to the right foot so it looks like he will be available at the start of the regular season.

Atlanta Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez will participate in his first preseason game against the Titans.

Buffalo Bills QB EJ Manuel has already begun the rehab process only two days after the procedure was performed on his knee.

]]>https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/nfl-notes/feed/0fabiancoltsfan5My new blog. Check it out!!!!https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/533/
https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/533/#commentsWed, 21 Aug 2013 04:39:56 +0000http://thenflzone.wordpress.com/?p=533I decided to do a new wordpress blog and it is specifically an Indianapolis Colts blog. Everyone should check it out!! I’m the lone author in that blog so be patient when it comes to breaking Colts news. I’m going to try my best to post breaking news or news general of the Colts as quick as I can! Thanks! The link for my new blog: http://indycoltsnews.wordpress.com/ – Fabian Garza
]]>https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/533/feed/1fabiancoltsfan5Some Injury Updateshttps://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/some-injury-updates/
https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/some-injury-updates/#commentsMon, 19 Aug 2013 19:29:46 +0000http://thenflzone.wordpress.com/?p=523

Photo Credit: Bleacherreport.com

Sources I used are from NFL.com and fantasyalarm.com/Rotoinfo.com:

Arizona’s RB Ryan Williams (knee) is likely not to participate on the third preseason game against the Chargers which is making it harder for Williams to keep his roster spot.

Buffalo Bills WR Stevie Johnson is planning to participate on the third preseason game against the Redskins after going through a hamstring injury.

Kansas City Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles returned from a strained right foot injury to practice yesterday with the team. The injury wasn’t serious and if it was a regular season game then Charles would have played no matter what.

Tampa Bay Bucs G Carl Nicks had a set back from toe surgery. Apparently he received a infected blister on his toe and his time table to return is still unknown.

Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert is going to miss the rest of the preseason with an injured thumb (hairline fracture) on his throwing arm but head coach Gus Bradley of the Jaguars has already stated that Gabbert will indeed be the starting QB in Week 1.

Houston Texans RB Arian Foster will not practice today due to back soreness that has affected his legs as well. It might seem that Foster’s chances on coming back to play in the preseason is near zero. Expect him to play in the regular season opener if Foster does make some progress with the back soreness.

Baltimore Ravens TE Ed Dickson (hamstring) practiced today.

Indianapolis Colts LB Lawrence Sidbury is dealing with a shoulder injury and he is considered day-to-day as of right now.

New England Patriots WR Danny Amendola was not spotted in practice today. His reason of absence is still unknown.

Houston Texans confirmed that WR DeAndre Hopkins did indeed sustain a concussion and it is more likely that he will miss the third preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.

Tampa Bay Bucs RB Doug Martin (head injury, not a concussion) returned to practice today (without contact) and apparently Martin is feeling fine. Indications have pointed that he will participate in the third preseason game against the Miami Dolphins but the Bucs haven’t confirmed that.

Minnesota Vikings WR Jarius Wright suffered a concussion this past Friday and is more likely that he will miss the third preseason game.

The Denver Broncos 2nd preseason game was a disaster and it wasn’t because they lost against the Seahawks by a huge score. It was because 5 players received injuries during the game. The 5 players were: CB Champ Bailey (Foot), WR Wes Welker (Ankle), LB Stewart Bradley (Wrist), G Louis Vasquez (Knee) and DE Derek Wolfe (Neck).

Champ Bailey checked his foot to see if there were any torn ligaments. According toLindsay Jones from USA TODAY Sports, an MRI showed that Bailey’s foot didn’t have any torn ligaments. However according to Ian Rapoport, Bailey’s foot injury is a serious foot sprain that could sideline him for several weeks. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie should take Bailey’s place while he is healing his foot injury throughout the preseason.

Wes Welker received an ankle injury during last night’s game and it was an ankle injury.According toIan Rapoport, Welker’s injury isamild ankle sprain. Also Welker “mild” injury seems that he will be ready in the regular season opener.

There hasn’t been an update on Bradley’s wrist injury but it didn’t seem too serious.

Louis Vasquez’s knee injury didn’t seem to serious either. According to NFL.com, Louis Vasquez just tweaked his knee and the reason he left was for precautionary reasons.

The worst injury that happened in the game was Derek Wolfe’s neck injury where he had to be put on a stretcher and taken by an ambulance to a hospital. However according to Lindsay Jones Wolfe tests reported back negative and he was able to fly back with the team. A scary experience for Wolfe.

Broncos practice on Monday and have today, Sunday, off which is probably a good thing after 5 players left the game early on Saturday due to injury.

Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins suffered a concussion during yesterday’s game against the Dolphins. Apparently Hopkins was stumbling and not acting like himself via pro football talk.

Dolphins TE Dustin Keller received a leg/knee injury and his season is over because of that knee injury via Pro Football Talk

Titans WR Kendall Wright received a knee injury during yesterday’s preseason game against the Bengals. Early indications have pointed that Wright thinks he received a knee sprain rather than a ACL tear via NFL.com.

Broncos CB Champ Bailey suffered a foot injury during yesterday’s preseason game against the Seahawks. Bailey was seen walking with crutches after the game via NFL.com. WR Wes Welker suffered a right ankle sprain during the same game via NFL.com. DE Derek Wolfe suffered a cervical spine injury but all MRI tests returned negative so he was able to fly home with the team via NFL.com. RG Louis Vasquez didn’t return to the game after having received a left knee injury in the 2nd quarter via NFL.com.

Raiders CB D.J. Hayden has been cleared for contact.

Jets OLB Quinton Coples might miss 3-4 weeks with a hairline fracture on his ankle that he received in the 2nd preseason game via ESPN.com.

Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert sprained his thumb on his throwing hand in the 2nd quarter of the 2nd preseason game via Pro Football Talk.

Titans LB Akeem Ayers left yesterday’s preseason game with an ankle injury via NFL.com. According to Titans head coach the injury appeared to be a bruise via NFL.com

Chargers announced that WR Eddie Royal received a brusied lung and a possible concussion via Pro Football Talk.

Now how could the 49ers, one of the participants of last season’s Super Bowl, have wide receiver problems? Well if you were living under a rock for the past couple of months then I understand why you are confused. It all started with starting WR Michael Crabtree going down during OTAs and that caused some serious problems right away. One of the clear reasons that was a problem was because Colin Kaepernick’s favorite target. Kaepernick last throw in the Super Bowl was actually towards Michael Crabtree so it showed how much trust Kaepernick had in Crabtree. However things got a little more complicated than that.

2012 first round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers was WR A.J. Jenkins from University of Illinois. Jenkins was suppose to be the 2nd wide receiver in the opposite side of Crabtree and the 1st wide receiver in case if Crabtree ever goes down with injury. However, ever since Crabtree got his injury Jenkins has not been impressive at all in OTAs and training camp. What makes it worse is that there is some speculation that maybeJenkins’s roster spot is in jeopardybecauseof how poorly he has performed in OTAs and training camp. Remember with the new CBA, it is cheaper for teams to dump their first round draft choices compared to before the new CBA was reached.

Just to show you how much Crabtree means to the 49ers, Crabtree last regular season had about twice as much receptions than the second leading receiver in receptions which was WR Mario Manningham who is also hurt with a knee injury. Also Crabtree had more than twice the number of receiving yards as the second leading receiver in yards which was TE Vernon Davis. Also Crabtree had 4 more TDs than the second leading receiver in TDs which was TE Vernon Davis. The stats are on this link. It shows that the 49ers receiving unit strength was Crabtree. However the 49ers did get one notable additions to their receiving unit which was former Baltimore Raven WR Anquan Boldin. One bad side about Boldin is that he hasn’t reached to the 1,000 receiving yard mark since going to Baltimore from Arizona. If Boldin can become the receiver that he was with Arizona then for sure Boldin can pick up the slack that was left since Crabtree’s injury. The good thing is that Kaepernick seems that he is going to be depending on Boldin a lot like how he depended on Crabtree on the second half of last regular season and on the Super Bowl run.

Other than WR Anquan Boldin and TE Vernon Davis there really isn’t a clear number 2 receiver even though the 49ers added former Colts WR Austin Collie about a week ago. Most teams at least have a consistent number 2 receiver for them to have a successful season like for example: Ravens: Boldin-Smith, Falcons: Jones-White, and the Broncos: Decker-Thomas. The only exception to that is the Patriots but they have an excellent running game and a HOF QB in Tom Brady. If Boldin does not play at a high standard then Kaepernick is going to have a tough time finding receivers open. I don’t expect Kaepernick to have a lot of passing yards next season but he will have a lot of rushing yards as he improvises with his legs due to the lack of talent in the receiving core.

INJURY UPDATE: The injury bug has plagued the Pittsburgh Steelers especially in the TE position where three TEs are in the PUP list. However TE Heath Miller might come back sooner than you think.

According to Gerry Dulac from the post-gazette.com, that TE Heath Miller might be activated from the PUP list before the regular season starts. However the notion is that Miller won’t start in the start of the regular season letting backup TE David Paulson start the regular season as the starting TE. Miller tore his ACL last season so the Steelers are probably going to take it slow with Miller and are probably going to let him play around Week 6 (Week 5 is Steelers bye week).

Steelers TE David Johnson, who got arthroscopic surgery about two weeks ago, is on the PUP list too. However Johnson expects to return soon as well and hopes to even play in a preseason game.

So it might seem that the Steelers might be getting some of their TEs back soon. This should help Big Ben a lot because Miller caught 71 catches for 816 yards with 8 TDs last season. It seems that TEs are an important feature in the new Steelers offense.

Chargers fans were relieved when they heard that Malcom Floyd’s injury was just a knee strain rather than a torn ACL but it still doesn’t mean that Floyd is 100% to return to the field soon. According to ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder, San Diego Chargers WR Malcom Floyd did not tore ACL and he will miss the rest of the preseason.

Good news for the Chargers. Chargers WR Danario Alexander saw his season ended by an ACL injury earlier in training camp and at least Floyd will see his preseason end early. Last season Floyd racked up in 14 games 56 receptions with 814 yards and 5 TDs. Also Floyd was the top receiver in targets, receptions, yards, and 20+ receptions. So if Floyd’s injury was a torn ACL it would have been a huge blow to the Chargers offense.

Chargers are going to need WR Eddie Royal, WR Vincent Brown and WR Keenan Allen to step up and fill the void that Alexander and Floyd will leave throughout the preseason. Therefore don’t be surprise if the passing game for the Chargers struggles in the beginning.

For Chargers QB Philip Rivers, he is going to need his WR healthy if he wants to have a successful season. Especially because the Chargers are “destined” to go win the Superbowl due to the fact they are facing the Eagles in the Eagles home opener.

Other Sources: sbnation.com, ESPN.com, profootballtalk.com

]]>https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/malcom-floyd-will-miss-at-least-the-rest-of-the-preseason/feed/3fabiancoltsfan5 Photo Credit: espn.go.com5 observations of Week 1 NFL preseason.https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/5-observations-of-week-1-nfl-preseason/
https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/5-observations-of-week-1-nfl-preseason/#commentsTue, 13 Aug 2013 07:13:06 +0000http://thenflzone.wordpress.com/?p=446Now I know preseason doesn’t count for the most part but I’m not going to criticize on the performances of players but instead observe/emphasize on how well/bad they did. Please bare with me if I do observe something in some starters because starters only play from 1-3 series depending on the coaching staff. The observations are not in any particular order.

Photo Credit: USATodayEJ Manuel running for a first down against the Colts.

1. EJ Manuel two minute drive against the Colts 2nd/3rd team defense and his overall perfomance: Now I know what people will say is that I’m taking credit away from Manuel. But I’m not. I actually liked how Manuel took control of the no huddle/two minute offense. When the Bills offense go the ball back and there were about two minutes left in the first half I actually thought that they would be stopped from scoring any points. Boy I was wrong. Manuel short passes got the edge of the Colts 2nd/3rd team defense and when Manuel decided to throw it deep it resulted in a 17 yard TD. However I will have to say that the majority of Manuel’s plays were short passes. According to usatoday.com, three of Manuel’s 16 completions were 9 yards+ which showed that the Bills offensive play calling was more conservative. However to fully give a good observation of Manuel I need to see more deep passes to see how strong his arm really is. Overall it was a strong performance by EJ Manuel and it is worth noting that Manuel increased his chances of becoming a starter with his week 1 preseason start. Note: When the first string defense was on the field, EJ Manuel didn’t score any points.

Photo Credit: espn.go.com

2. Manti Teo (remember him) invisible in his NFL debut: Manti Te’o went to the field with the Chargers first team defense as the right inside linebacker. Te’o didn’t record a sack or any batted passes but did show the aggressiveness to go to the ball even though the only time that he had a chance to get the Seahawks 2nd string RB Te’o was well defended by the fullback. I can’t really say much about Te’o performance because he only played in 9 snaps. Overall people are going to continue to observe his play throughout the preseason and going into the regular season. This player will be the player to watch if you are a Chargers fan.

Photo Credit: ganggreennation.com

3. Rebound drive from Jets QB Mark Sanchez: Mark Sanchez really couldn’t afford a bad first series to start his 2013 NFL season. Well that’s what he actually did. On his fourth play of the game, Mark Sanchez threw a screen pass only to be intercepted and returned for a TD by Lions rookie DE Ziggy Ansah. However what’s impressive is how Sanchez rebounded to score a TD and it seemed that Sanchez rebounded pretty well by completing 10 passes out of 13 total passes. Also a good thing was that Mark Sanchez was not sacked so it shows that the O-line for the Jets have improved.

4.Cowboys defense seemed improved in their first two preseason games: Cowboys defense in 2012 was pretty bad. Alone with just turnovers, the Cowboys defense was in the bottom in turnovers which didn’t help them at all. During their first two preseason games the Cowboys defense have not allowed a TD in the first half, according to bleacherreport.com. The cowboys even forced three turnovers (2 INT and 1 FF) and they have more turnovers than 24 NFL teams in the preseason. It’s worth noting that the Cowboys have played in 2 games while the other 30 teams have only played in one game. Overall the Cowboys defense seem to take a different approach to the game and seem to be better than their 2012 defense.

Photo Credit: Yahoo SportsHopkins catching the 34 yard TD

5. Three rookie WRs impressive debut: If I had to choose three rookie WRs that were impressive I had to choose the following: Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Bills WR Marquise Goodwin and Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins.

Let’s start with Cordarrelle Patterson. Vikings chose Patterson to ultimately fill the void that was left with the Percy Harvin trade. Patterson didn’t disappoint when he exploded with a 50 yard return in the opening kickoff. Patterson showed that he can fill the void in special teams. Patterson also grabed 5 catches for 54 yards and which one of his catches went for 20+ yards.

Marquise Goodwin was more explosive in special teams than Patterson. Goodwin recorded a 53 yard return and a 107 TD return against the Colts. Goodwin can seriously add another demension for a Buffalo Bills special teams that ranked 4th in kickoff return average last season. Overall opposing kickoff coverage units must be afraid when going against the Buffalo Bills kickoff return unit.

DeAndre Hopkins didn’t get the most yards by a WR but he did show everyone that he was worth the first round pick by catching a 34 yard TD even though he was well covered. If Hopkins can play in the level that he showed against the Vikings then he could be a real asset for Andre Johnson who was targeted 58.1 percent of all pass attempts to WR which was the highest rate last season.

Overall all three WRs showed that they can perform well and help their team score points and gain yards. Wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them have productive seasons.

]]>https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/5-observations-of-week-1-nfl-preseason/feed/1fabiancoltsfan5Photo Credit: USAToday EJ Manuel running for a first down against the Colts.Photo Credit: espn.go.comPhoto Credit: ganggreennation.comcowboys-bucs-2012-ware-slapPhoto Credit: Yahoo Sports Hopkins catching the 34 yard TDMake or Break 2013: Jake Lockerhttps://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/make-or-break-2013-jake-locker/
https://thenflzone.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/make-or-break-2013-jake-locker/#commentsSat, 27 Jul 2013 23:47:25 +0000http://thenflzone.wordpress.com/?p=4183. People might disagree with me on this one because Locker just completed his second NFL season. People also might disagree with the fact that he was taken 8th overall in the 2011 draft. In 2011, Locker could not beat out veteran Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job who took the Titans to a 9-7 record and barely missing the playoffs. He finally won over the job in 2012 and was injured for 5 of the games and the Titans went 6-10. He threw 314 passes and completed 177 of them (56.4%) for 2,176 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and a 74.0 passer rating. He ran 41 times for 291 yards for 1 touchdown and losing 2 fumbles. I’m not putting a lot of the blame on Locker for the Titans failure this year either because the offense wasn’t talented outside of Chris Johnson. The leader for most receptions on the Titans was Kendall Wright with only 64 receptions. The Titans lost Jared Cook to the Rams but they added TE Delanie Walker and drafted Justin Hunter from University of Tennessee to help Locker. Although I don’t believe that Locker will be booted if he doesn’t produce but the Titans will definitely be looking at other options.

Locker will have to keep away from injuries if he looks to keep his job.